Love is blind
by Blackittenlovestwilight
Summary: Bella and Edward are in love, just one catch, they've never actually met, They've been pen pals for years. And now she has to share an apartment with somebody she can hardly stand to even look at? All-Human
1. The New York Times

**So this is my first time writing, please be nice :D **  
**Just a note as well, James isn't the bad evi vampire one, he's a completely original character so don't pre judge him :3**  
**I do not own any of this, well i do own James, but it all belongs to the author of twilight :D**

* * *

I hurried down the street, my heart pumping. Would it be there? What if it isn't? Maybe something's happened. As i rounded the corner i saw it, there it was, my heart skipped a beat. There poking out of our mail box was the letter I'd waited so long for. The old paper envelope, with my name printed in perfect writing on the front "Bella" I snatched it up and ran inside, i briefly heard my mother exclaim to my father that I must have run all the way home.

Although I was nearly 23 I still lived with my parents in forks. Our house was small and modest, but it was all we needed. Ever since I was little I'd always wanted to become a journalist and now that I was finally all grown up that dream was slowly becoming a reality, but of course it was slightly harder than I'd anticipated as a child. Forks isn't exactly the hot spot for all things news worthy and I knew that if I wanted to get anywhere with my career I'd have to leave.

_Dear Bella_

_I apologise profusely for taking so long to reply to your letter. Things have been so busy here in London I hardly got a chance. _

_I'm halfway through my book, it's called 'Love is blind' I hope for you can read it one day. _

_ Most of my colleagues are in New York at the moment so it's just me here for now, not that I mind. This gives me a good chance to work in peace._

_I'm sure you're doing wonderfully as always. _What is happening in forks? How is your journalism going? Write back soon.

_I love you, forever and always – Edward_

Edward and I had always had a slightly unorthodox relationship. In junior high school I'd signed up for a pen pal program, most people just though it was stupid but I'd always loved writing. And if I had somebody to write to, well that made it all the better. Edward lived in London, he too had a passion for writing but he wanted to become an author and write books instead.

We kept writing to each other long after the pen pal program had finished, and although we'd never actually met we slowly fell in love. Edward always promised me that one day we'd meet, but we lived in completely different countries so things like that weren't simply done.

I'd only ever seen one photo of him, from when he was much younger it was a terrible photo though which made it remarkably hard for me to tell out his features. However from what Edward told me he had striking copper hair with sharp emerald eyes. I didn't mind never meeting him, writing to him was all I really needed for now.

"Bella, the phones for you" My mother's voice from downstairs snapped me out of my day dream.

I picked up my retro styled phone "Bella speaking?"

"Bella, you have to meet me at my office RIGHT NOW" Angela's voice rung shrilly in my ear.

Ever since I'd gotten out of high school, I'd worked for Angela, she was in charge of the only newspaper in forks, and she was also one of the few friends I had here.

"Angela, calm down, I'll be there as soon as i can" I said trying to keep her from possibly hyper ventilating, Angela had a bad habit of getting worked up over the smallest details.

I hung up the phone and ran out the house. I found the keys to my old red truck. Once upon a time it would have been called red, but the extensive rust had turned it a delightful shade of brown. It was a gift for my sixteenth birthday; however that didn't mean it didn't break down every five minutes, the thing was probably as old as my grandmother. But it still did the job and that was all I needed.

I drove as fast as the truck would allow (which was probably about half the speed limit) to the office. I parked up my truck and rushed through the doors, I flashed my I.D. card to the security guard and jumped into the elevator and pressed number four.

The building where I worked was old, but still in good condition. It was known as one of the oldest buildings in forks and had been renovated and done up more times than sixty year old super model.

I made my way to Angela's office and knocked softly on the door.  
"Come in!" I heard her shout.

"What took you so long? I've been sitting here waiting for you for five minutes and twenty three seconds!" Angela was always good with numbers, but she hadn't really got the hang of patience yet.

"Well you know I did have to drive here?" I said while chuckling slightly to myself.

"This is unimportant, what is important however what i'm about to tell you is.  
Do you remember that application I sent to New York for you?"

I remembered it vaguely, a few months the opportunity of a life time opened up for me. It was a job in New York, as a journalist for the New York Times. I never thought they'd even read my application let alone consider it.

"Well they've taken quite an interest to you, in fact they want to fly you over to New York in a couple of days to see if you have what it takes personally"

I was dumbstruck; I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. I felt numb, but in a good way. I couldn't believe what she was saying, but what Angela said next quickly snapped me out of it.

"However there is a catch Bella, you aren't the only one they're considering. You're one of two. Now the New York Times have agreed to pay for an apartment for you to live in should you get the job, but because you are still being considered along with a second applicant, you will need to share the apartment with that applicant until one of you should get the job"

It was a lot to process, but I would still do whatever it took to get this job. It was the biggest chance I'd ever had, and besides you don't get the chance to go to New York everyday.

"Now, the New York Times has also arranged all your flights and details, you just need to be at the airport tomorrow night at 7 o'clock"

"7 o'clock tomorrow? I have a day? That's it?" I said in complete shock.

"Yes, well they are being quite generous aren't they?" Angela replied calmly as she began to continue with whatever work she was working on.

The next day went by remarkably fast. I packed the few belongings I had into my old rustic suitcase and said goodbye to my mum and dad.

Charlie and Renee had been high school sweethearts, they married as soon as they both graduated and they'd been together ever since. At least now that I was gone they'd be able to enjoy each other's company a bit more.

My dad once told me that even when they were at school Renee had been gorgeous, all of the boys were practically in love with her. I'd inherited her hair and her eyes, but that was about as far as my luck went. I somehow seemed to be exceptionally ordinary, brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin and not much for a sense of fashion.

Before I left I'd also made a note to call up my old childhood friend Alice. Alice and I had been best friends since we were kids, but her family moved to new York when we were both fifteen. As soon as I told her I'd be coming to New York she practically broke the phone by screaming into it. At least I wouldn't be completely alone; she also promised to help get me set up and pick me up from the airport.

The time for me to make my way to the airport came all too fast and a teary Renee along with Charlie drove me to the airport.

"Promise you'll call as soon as you get there?" My mum said as she hugged me tightly. I looked at my dad and he hugged me also.

"Take care of yourself" He said with a smile.

My dad had always supported me with journalism and he was almost as happy as I was about this opportunity.

I took one look back at them and waved as I finally boarded the plane.

As I came out of the terminal I felt completely lost, New York airport was a lot bigger than I'd anticipated. I felt more lost and insignificant than ever before.

Everywhere I looked there were people. I desperately searched for Alice and started to panic when I couldn't see her anywhere. Just as I almost felt tears welling up i felt somebody hug me from behind.

"Alice!" I screamed and turned to hug her back.

Alice was never the tallest, in fact she was the very shortest. She preferred to call herself "Fun sized". However he size was nothing to judge her on, if you pissed her off you would pay for it. She had short black hair and brown eyes, much like my own.

The one key difference in us however was her sense of fashion, ever since we were little she'd always had an eye for that sort of thing. That's partly why she wasn't completely devastated at the idea of moving to New York. And because of it she was now one of the hottest fashion designers in New York.

"Bella! Come on you have to meet Jasper!" She squealed in her high pitched voice. She dragged me over to a tall blonde haired man leaning up against the wall.

"Bella, this is Jasper, Jasper this is Bella" She said grabbing Jasper's hand.

"Me and Jasper have been together for three years now, we met at university"

"Nice to meet you" He said as he shook my hand, he had quite a lovely voice, almost calming to hear to.

Alice decided that before she dropped me off at the apartment we had to get something to eat; I wasn't going to deny it though. I was starving and plane food never quite agreed with me.

We settled on a small sushi place somewhere in the middle of New York. After we got our sushi we found a table in the corner and sat down.

"So Bella, how long are you planning on staying in New York?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, well that all depends on whether i get this job or not. Hang on, I just need to get some soy sauce."

I got up I walked over to the counter and asked for another packet of soy sauce. I turned and began making my way back to the table but my eye somehow caught something outside at the same time as my foot catching on a table leg. And then before I knew what was going on I found myself crashing straight into somebody.

I was slightly afraid to open my eyes, I was lying on something, something warm. As I finally did open my eyes I realized it wasn't a something but rather a someone. And a very good looking someone at that.

"I am so sorry" I quickly blurted out while quickly trying to get up.

"No harm no foul he said as he too got up. I finally had a chance to really look at him, he had thick brown hair and incredible blue eyes.

"James" He said as he stuck his hand out

"Bella" I said still in a shock a little bit.

"Well, as much as I'd like to, I won't be there to catch you every time so keep an eye out for where you're going next time" He said with a smirk and walked out of the shop. As I watched him leave the shop I turned and walked back to Alice, still feeling a little dizzy.

"Bella! What was that all about?" She said grabbing my arm and most likely cutting off the circulation.

"I have no idea" I said, my mind still wandering back to James.

* * *

**Don't worry there will be more Edward, if you review :D Please do, so I know if I should continue this story or not. Any feedback is good feedback for me :D**

**Thanks for read (:**


	2. I am definitely not in Forks

**Well here's the second chapter (: I hope you like it. Remember to keep reviewing, and as always I own none of this. I just enjoy making these people do what I please ;)**

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After we finished our meals we made our way back to Alice's car.

"Where did you say you would be staying?" She asked. I looked down at the sheet of paper Angela had given me with all of the information I needed.

"It says here that it's on 16 Broadway Street"

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me and Jasper to help you unpack Bella?" Alice asked for the sixth time while leaning out of her car window.  
"I'm sure Alice, I just want to get up there and have a rest. Besides, Angela told me that my 'roommate' shouldn't be moving in for a day or two so I still have some time by myself"

"Okay, well if you need ANYTHING at all, just call. Okay?"

"Of course Alice" I said as she wound up her window and drove away.

I finally turned around to look at the place that would possibly be my next home, and I was very impressed. The apartment building was gorgeous, it was made of white stone, and each floor had pillars lining the wall. It was nothing like anything I'd ever seen in forks.

I walked through the glass revolving doors, and found myself in awe. The ground was covered in marble, with pillars holding up the roof that must have been two floors high.

I looked back down at the sheet Angela had given me, floor 10, and room 678. How could one building have more than 679 rooms? My house barely had five.

I found my way to the elevator where a man in a suit looked at me expectantly.

"Uh, nice weather we're having?" I said, not sure what he wanted from me.

He cleared his throat,  
"Your floor?"

Oh right, I realized that this man must have been in charge of the lift.

"Floor ten please" He pressed a button and the lift began to move.

Much like the rest of the building the elevator was gorgeous; the doors were made of glass so every floor we passed I could see. The walls had the most beautiful pattern on them that matched the patterned marble floor.

"Floor ten" The man said as the door opened. I thanked him and dragged my suitcase out. I looked down one end of the corridor, and then the other. They both looked like they went on forever. In front of me the door said 625, so I carried on down to the left.

The floor here didn't have marble, but rather beautiful carpet with such an intricate design matching the walls. There it was, at the end of the corridor. Room 678. I found the key Angela had given me, and put it into the lock and slowly turned it, until I heard the click.

I took a step through the door and gasped. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. (There's a link to it on my page) Everything was white; the room was two stories tall, with a staircase leading to an upstairs mezzanine floor lounge, with a bedroom up there as well. There was a second bedroom on the first floor next to a desk which continued on to the kitchen. The walls were all white, the floor was made of marble but unlike the lobby, this was white. There were several rugs that were orangey red.

I was so in awe that this was where I'd be living. I claimed the upstairs bedroom as mine, because it had more privacy than the other. I unpacked my things and decided it was time to write a letter to Edward.

_Dear Edward, _

_I'm so glad to hear you're doing well. You'll never believe what's happened! I've been offered a job in New York! I'm here now. But I haven't gotten the job just yet. The job is with The New York Times, and for now they've given me an apartment to stay. Which is amazing, I wish you could see it. Everything is pure luxury, there's even a man who presses the buttons in the lift for you! I've met up with Alice, who was perky as always. And we went for Sushi with her boyfriend Jasper. While at the restaurant my clumsiness got the better of me. Again. And I crashed straight into a complete stranger, lucky he was very considerate about it and neither of us were hurt. I don't know what I'd have to do if somebody sued me again for tripping over onto them. The job I've applied for though, I'm not the only one who is being considered for the job at the moment, so I'll have to be sharing the apartment with someone else for the time being. I haven't met them yet. I love you too Edward._

_Yours truly – Bella_

I folded up the piece of paper, Edward always insisted on writing to each other as opposed to emailing. He told me once that it made you think about what you say a lot clearer. Edward told me that he lived in London, but he was always on the move. He has a box IN London, that his mail is delivered to and from there it is sent to him. This makes it hard for me to know where he is at any time.

My hand instinctively went to the pendant around my neck. Edward had sent it to me when I turned 18, I never took it off. The necklace was in the shape of one side of the ying and yang. On it was half of the Gemini symbol; Edward told me that he always had the other half with him.

He told me that the Gemini sign was important, because it showed me that you always needed to love both sides of anybody's personality. Whenever I thought of the necklace I thought of Edward, although I'd never met him in person. He knew me better than anybody else.

I was still full from the sushi so I made my way up to bed.

* * *

"_Bella, wake up Bella. I'm here. "_

_I sat up in bed and felt somebody hug me from behind._

"_I love you so much Bella..." _

_It was Edward. I knew it was, it had to be him. He slowly brought his lips to my ear and dragged them down to my neck. Suddenly, more than anything I wanted to see him. For the first time, face to face. _

_I turned around quickly, but just as I did i felt his arms let go and he vanished before I could._

* * *

I was sitting up in bed, breathing fast, with my forehead full of sweat.

"It was just a dream, Bella" I told myself. But that didn't stop the ache. Ever since i'd begun writing to Edward, I'd wanted to meet him, in person. Just to see his face, to feel his hands. He always promised me that one day we would, and I knew he wouldn't break a promise. It just wasn't in him to do so.

I got up and put on the first thing I found in my wardrobe, it was a simple cream top with a woollen cardigan and skinny jeans, I made myself breakfast and sat at the table admiring the view from my apartment.

"So this is New York" I said softly to myself.

Suddenly I heard my phone ringing; I jumped the couch to grab it before it stopped.

"Hello!" I said, sounding more out of breath than intended

"Bella it's just me! Have you been running?" It was only Angela, phew.

"No, sorry just ran to get the phone" I heard her laugh on the end.

"Well I just got a call from the New York Times; they'd like you to visit their office today. The meeting's at about 2:00 so make sure you're there on time. Wear something that looks... professional" I nodded briefly and then realized to myself she wouldn't have actually been able to see it...

"So that's about it. But Bella, remember, you must be on time. Hopefully I'll talk to you soon. Bye" And just like that she hung up on me.

As I slowly lowered the phone from my ear, trying to process everything she just said, panic begun to fill my mind. Something professional? How was I supposed to know what something professional was? I have trouble dressing myself in things suitable to be seen in public in, let alone to make a good impression in.

I quickly ran up the white staircase above the kitchen and scrambled into my bedroom.

As I stared meekly into my closet I realized I had no idea what to wear. And then I saw it, I'd almost completely forgotten I owned it. Alice had sent it to me for my twenty first birthday, something from one of her first collections.

I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror. It was perfect. It was a simple, light pink dress that came down just above my knees. And a long jacket of the same colour coming down slightly lower, which had three even white stripes around the waste. I wore very low heals to match. Over all I thought I'd done quite well, well enough that maybe even Alice would be pleased to see me dressed like this.

Suddenly it dawned on me however that I barely had an hour before I was expected at the New York Times. I quickly did my makeup and rushed out the door. I hailed a taxi and told the driver where I was headed.

The taxi arrived at the office swiftly; I paid the cab driver and stepped outside. There were people everywhere, I could barely see the pavement, I was defiantly in New York now. I made my way to the receptionist inside.

"Um, I'm Bella Swan. I'm here about the job application?" I spoke as I bent my head over the desk to see a small elderly woman wearing glasses that were almost falling off her nose.

"Ah, Bella! They're expecting you on the fifth floor. Good luck!" She said while giving me a grin that reminded me remarkably of my own grandmother.

I thanked her and made my way into the lift. A sudden nervousness washed over me as I realized where I was and what I was about to do. What if they don't like me? What if the other person is some world renowned journalist? How will I stand a chance? Okay Bella, just calm down. Deep breaths, it won't be that bad, it can't be that bad.

The elevator reached the fifth floor all too soon and I found my feet moving on my own behalf. My heart was beating a mile a minute and I had a sudden urge to turn around and get back in the elevator, but my feet wouldn't let me. They just kept walking.

I opened the door in front of me and found yet another receptionist, but this time she was speaking with someone.

As I entered the room the lady the receptionist was talking too turned to me. She was tall, but not abnormally so. She had blonde hair tied neatly in a bun. She wore a tight black skirt with a white shirt. She looked somewhere in her mid thirties.

Just looking at her made me get the feeling I was very unwanted here, but all of that vanished when a smile broke out across her face.

"You must be Bella" She beamed at me.

"Come this way" She led me through another corridor, and then another and just as I thought we were going in circles she pointed to a door. I presumed she meant for me to go through so I did so.

The room I was in was beautiful; there was a leather couch on one side with some exotic plant in a pot next to it. On the other side, there was a long table like desk. With chairs down both sides, and a man seated at the head of it. He looked maybe forty with blonde hair sitting at the desk. He had a very welcoming expression, that suddenly took away all of my nerves.

"Bella, please take a seat!" He said, with the warmth in his voice reflected in his smile.

I took a seat to the right of him, just as he reached out his hand and introduced himself.

"I'm Carlisle Kensington. I'm the chief editor at the New York Times." Just as I was about to introduce myself he spoke again.

"I know all about you already Bella. I reviewed your application and you seem like the perfect girl for the job, however you weren't the only one with a perfect application. And it looks like this is him now!"

My heart begun pounding again as I turned around. It was him, why did it have to be him? More importantly WHY didn't he tell me he was trying for the same job as me? As James took the seat opposite me, I remembered with great horror that we had in fact flirted yesterday. How could I flirt with him though? Sure he had astoundingly good looks. But he was the one trying to take this amazing opportunity away from me! I finally actually took a good look at him.

He had thick brown hair, with striking blue eyes. He was really hot. Whether I liked it or not. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a black blazer, but I was sure he could throw on crocs and an over sized woolen sweater and still look good.

"Bella, this is James. James, Bella" Carlisle said, snapping me out of my thoughts. As James put his hand out, I stared at it for a moment. Why should I shake HIS hand, but then something came over me, and with a sickly sweet smile I stretched out my hand to shake his.

Under the desk however, I swiftly dug my heel into his foot. Why should I be nice to him? I thought bitterly to myself. There was only one job, and two of us. I looked up at his face, and found his expression perfectly charming, so that's how you want to play it, i thought to myself. Although his face didn't show it I felt his hand squeeze mine just that bit harder. I was satisfied.

"Well, as you both know there is a very good job coming up here. The job on offer is in fact, mine"  
I audibly gasped, I knew this job was good, but I didn't honestly think I'd be the editor of a news paper. I looked over at James expecting some sort of similar reaction to mine, but he simply smirked at me.

"Now seeing as whoever gets this job will be taking over the newspaper completely, I need to ensure that whoever gets this job won't throw it away. And so I've decided, seeing as we have a month and a bit till new years, whoever comes up with the best end of year article for the New Years Eve issue, will get the job"

I felt my breath start to quicken again, James was bound to have loads of experience with this for all I knew. Calm down Bella, it's one article. You can do it.

"Now" Carlisle continued, "seeing as whoever gets this job, will be living in a paid for apartment. For the time being you two are going to have to share the apartment."

I'd seen this one coming; I just hadn't quite anticipated who I'd have to share it with.

Carlisle finished up with the details of the job, and we both left the office.

As soon as the door shut, I turned on James.

"Why didn't you tell me you were the one going for the job?" I whispered profusely, although I was worked up, I still didn't want anybody else to here me.

"Well I'm sorry" He said almost too casually for my liking. "Where were my manners, whenever I let people fall on me I normally remember to let them know exactly what my business in New York is." He said, with sarcasm coating his voice and a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Apparently sure I had nothing else to say, he turned and walked towards the lift whistling a song to himself. I stormed off in the direction of the stairs. There was no WAY I'd be sharing an elevator with this incredulous man.

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**Thanks for reading it :D See you next time. **


	3. Pancakes!

**Chapter 3 :D **

**And as always, I don't own anything. As lovely as that would be (: **

* * *

"_Bella..."_

_It was that dream again. I knew it was. It was the same dream I'd had for months. I was with Edward. We were in a ballroom, there were people everywhere. All dressed up in beautiful gowns and suits. There were golden pillars with ribbons tied all around them, and great pots of flowers in every corner. Everywhere I looked people were laughing and enjoying themselves._

_Except for me, how could I?_

_And I was always with Edward, every time. But he was behind me. And I knew that when I turned to look at him, he'd vanish. But I still did it, every time. I knew I'd never see him, but each time I thought that maybe this would be it. Maybe I'd see him._

"_Bella..." _

_But just as I was turning to watch his black silhouette fade like always something woke me up..._

* * *

A very loud banging noise was coming from the kitchen, like somebody pulling out all of the pots and pans. There was somebody in the kitchen.

I sat up straight in bed and looked around, trying to remember exactly where I was. After everything came back to me and I remembered everything that had happened to me in the past two days.

That still didn't answer the question of who was downstairs though, yesterday after I'd left the office and I walked past James he said that he wouldn't be moving into the apartment for a day or two. And so I began to get very worried, about who was downstairs. In my Kitchen. Making noise.

As my heart began to race, and I felt the blood start to pound through my ears I quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed my dressing gown and threw it on. I slowly creeped out of my bedroom and found myself on my hands and knees for fear that whoever was downstairs would see me over the banister.

I shuffled forwards, still desperately trying to hear anything that could tell me who this person was and what they were doing in my apartment.

I kept crawling, with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realized it had gone quite. And finally at snail's pace I reached the staircase. At the exact same time, I heard him speak.

"What ARE you doing?" He said with a chuckle. I looked down and there he was, standing at the foot of the staircase, James.

"Uh, I dropped...something" I said while scrambling myself up.

"More importantly what are YOU doing here?" I said while running down the stairs. But of course, simply going down the stairs wasn't enough for clumsy me. But somehow I tripped on the last stair and plunged straight into James.

I heard something hard hit the floor as we crashed onto it.

My eyes clenched shut I felt something warm around me. I hesitantly opened one eye and found two more staring straight back at me.

"Well if you'd wanted to start the day like this, you could've just asked?" He said with a wink, as I realised the warm thing around me were his arms. And that I was being held very tightly against his chest, in nothing more than a tank top and boy shorts, seeing as my dressing gown flung open when I fell.

I sighed for a minute, closing my eyes. Forgetting who was underneath me and simply relishing in the warmth.

"Are you going to be making a habit of falling on me?" He said, this time his words snapping me out of it and I jumped up, wrapping my dressing gown up again furiously.

"What are you doing here?" I said eyeing him up.

"Well I was making breakfast" That's when I spotted it, the wooden spoon lying on the floor next to him, along with the spilt bowl of something that smelt quite lovely. Somehow my eyes were then drawn to a large clock hanging on the wall.

"It's four bloody am!" I shouted as he picked up the bowl and spoon.

"Well I like to make an early start" he said with a laugh and a smirk.

"I'm going back to bed." I said angrily as I turned and stormed up the staircase, making sure not to trip on the last stair again.

* * *

I must have woken up at around 11am the second time, but I decided to snooze for a bit, everything always looked a lot better when you were lying in bed sleeping in. As I lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness, I could've sworn somebody came in once or twice, but perhaps it was just the sleep talking and I wasn't really awake.

I finally got up and looked over at my desk. Somebody had definitely been in here. There was a pile of letters addressed to me. The top one had my name, and nothing else printed in beautiful writing on it.

Edward must've got my letter, along the one mentioning my new address. I'd delivered them both after that horrid meeting at The New York times yesterday. Apparently New York post delivered fast I guess.

I snatched it off the pile and ripped it open, my heart fluttering the way it always did when I had a new letter from him.

_Dear Bella_

_I'm so glad to hear you're doing well. I'm sure whoever this person is doesn't stand a chance of getting the job against you. The apartment you're staying does sound amazing; you'll have to send me a picture of it. I hope one day I can see it for myself. Today I caught myself looking at my half of the Gemini pendent and I thought of you. I have mine with my at all times, I hope you do the same. I'm still in London at the moment, working on my book. But Bella, no matter what, I cannot shake this urge. I cannot live like this forever, I love you. And I want to see you, face to face. Write back to me as soon as you can._

_I love you, forever and always. – Edward_

My heart skipped a beat. Would I finally be able to meet Edward? Would I really be able to see him for the first time?

I was distracted from my train of thought by the rumbling of my stomach, in all my excitement I realized I still hadn't had anything for breakfast. I threw on the first thing I could find, which just happened to be a pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt. At least I didn't look like something out of one of Alice's nightmares, that she told me about when we were kids.

Yes, as a fashion obsessed child Alice didn't have nightmares about the boogieman, or big spiders. She dreamt about walking into school and realising that the clothes she had put on were... Ugly.

I made my way down the stairs to see James seated at the table with a pile of pancakes in front of him at least 2 feet high.

"Are you planning on eating all of those?" I said incredulously as I grabbed a plate and sat down opposite him. He was dressed in plane black track pants and a white singlet, still looking amazing as always, but still wearing that flirtatious smirk.

"Well of course not, I was simply waiting for you to come down" He said, smiling a smile that for once looked genuine. I took a pancake from the pile and begun eating. It was delicious; I could hardly believe James had made these.

"Did you actually make these?" I asked incredulously.

"What? Do you think I'm incapable of cooking? Well after you crashing on top of my first batch I made another while you were asleep. I also took the liberty of bringing up your mail; it came through the slot in our door this morning"

Satisfied with his response I continued to eat in silence. After I finished my food, I went back upstairs and checked my phone. "2 missed calls from Alice" That could never be good. I rang her back straight away.

"Bella?" She answered, clearly expecting my call.

"Alice, this IS my phone. What's up?"

"I need someone to try out these latest designs; do you think you could come down to my office today?" I could almost hear the excitement in her voice.

"Uh, sure I'll be over there as soon as I can" I said not quite sure what to expect.

"I'll send a taxi over to pick you up, so you don't have to worry about finding it, it should be there in about 5 minutes? Okay thanks bye!" She said, so fast I almost couldn't understand a word she said.

Well I guess that's my day planned, I thought to myself. I put my shoes on and ran downstairs; I'd rather wait outside than here with James. Just as I opened the door and was about to walk outside, I heard James call my name.

"You forgot something" He said simply without evening turning away from the table.

He was right, I didn't want to admit it, but my bag with everything in it was still up stairs. I sighed impatiently and ran upstairs, grabbed my bag and came back down.

"Tata" He called as I slammed the door behind me.

* * *

I arrived at Alice's studio within a minute. I'm not exaggerating, it turns out her studio was just round the corner from me. Why couldn't she have just walked to meet me? I have no idea.

I walked into the lobby, and there was Alice.

"BELLA!" She squealed with joy as she came and tackled/hugged me. Depending on how you viewed it.

"Come on, I'll show you my studio" She dragged me to the elevator, although the building wasn't as nice as the one I lived in, but it was still lovely all the same. We reached her studio, and as Alice opened the door and I walked in. It was amazing.

The room was so wide and every wall was covered in manikins, some of them dressed in beautiful clothes, others with half made pieces hanging of them. Everywhere I looked there were scraps of fabric draped over everything, on the tables and chairs. There was even a section with a white backdrop and a camera set up in front of it, I presumed this is where she took the photos of her clothes.

"Now Bella, I just want you to try on a couple of things, you have the PERFECT figure for what I need"

I suddenly felt very self conscious and instinctively crossed my arms.

"If you say so Alice..." I said hesitantly

* * *

Over the next two or so hours I tried on everything from dresses to jackets and everything in between.

We were half way through Alice fitting me for some sort of blouse by measuring my legs, I don't know what that had to do with a blouse but it seemed relevant for her.

"Alice, about this job I'm going for. I need to come up with the perfect article for the end of year edition of the New York Times. But I'm completely lost, I have no idea what to do"

"Well" Alice said, as she switched to measuring my arms.

"I know this really lovely elderly couple, they've been together for eighty years, and their anniversary is New Year's Day. You could always do something on them?" She said before putting a pin in her mouth and attaching a piece of fabric to my arm.

"That could work..." I said thinking.

"I'll take you to them, but for now we have loads of time" She said pinning something else to my leg.

"Anyway, on another note, one of Jasper's friends is having a party tonight, and I just thought since you're new here and you don't know many people it might be fun if you came?"

I didn't know what to say. I was never one of those 'popular' people, who made friends well. And parties, well parties weren't really a place where I fit in.

"Uh but Alice, I wouldn't even know what to wear!" I said, hoping she'd fall for it.

"Oh Bella, you should know by now that clothes are never a problem when you're with me" She was right. I should have seen that one coming.

"Alice, you know parties aren't my thing. I'll just end up alone in a corner all night" I said, pouting slightly.

"Bella! You'll have me and jasper! And you'll get to meet Rosalie and Emmett; you're going to LOVE THEM, and besides, all of Jasper's friends are lovely! I'm sure you'll meet someone you'll get along with" Alice said as she pinned the last part of the arm together and stood up to admire her work.

I sighed; I knew there was no way I was going to get out of this.

"I guess there's nothing stopping me" I said half heartedly.

"I have JUST the thing for you to wear!" She squealed with joy, clapping her hands.

* * *

**I hope you like it (: Next chapter will be the party so things will get more interesting now. Please review :D **

**See you next time!**


	4. I'm just looking for a bucket

**Hello all (: Here is the fourth chapter, I hope you like it. This one is slightly more interesting then the last.**

* * *

"Alice are you sure about this dress?" I said, eyeing myself up in the mirror. It was a dress unlike anything I'd ever worn before. It was a black cocktail dress, strapless with one single piece of fabric coming over the back. It came just down to above my knees. **(A Picture is on my profile)** It did fit me like a glove if I did say so myself.

"Don't worry Bella! You'll fit right in" She said as she made several last adjustments on it.

"Don't you think it's a bit, too much for a party?" I said sceptically.

"Bella. You can NEVER wear too much for a New York party" She said as if I'd been living under a rock all my life.

For what seemed like most of the day, I'd been trying on clothes from Alice's latest collection, to see if they looked good "on people". I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, how else could a piece of clothing looks good?

After we'd finally finished, and I had finished trying on at least 37 and a outfits, Alice agreed to show me the dress I would be wearing tonight. It wasn't one of hers; she told me that it was a gift from a friend. But that black made her look "washed out" and as soon as she saw she knew I had to have it.

And so there I was, in a dress shorter than anything I'd ever worn; about to go to a party with people I'd never met (Excluding Jasper and Alice). I was sitting on one of the few chairs Alice actually had in this studio, when she finally came out in what she would be wearing for the evening.

Her dress was quite unlike mine, it came down to the same point that mine did, but unlike mine hers had a high waist that had ruffles carrying down from it. Of course, the shoes she wore were also heels. At least 6 inch heels, how somebody that short walked in heels that high was beyond me.

It was barely even possible for me to manage heels half the size of hers. But Alice had insisted, i MUST wear heels, as it enhanced my "Naturally amazing legs" or so she said.

Alice glanced at the clock and a look of urgency came over her.

"Bella! We have to go! We can't be late! Come on!" She said as she ran (Again, not quite sure how she managed that) Over to me, grabbed my arm and dragged me to the door.

I say dragged because as this was my first time in heels, I was half falling over, half walking.

* * *

We caught a taxi there, which once again only took a minute or two to arrive. What did people in New York have against walking I wonder?

We caught the lift to the penthouse suite; apparently Jasper had some very well off friends. We opened the door and suddenly I couldn't hear myself think. The music was so loud, as I looked around desperately for Alice, who it appeared I'd already lost, I felt her grab my wrist and pull my into the next room.

Suddenly the music disappeared; this room was quieter than the last, thank god.

"Bella! This is Rose, and this is Emmett" Alice said dragging me over to two people seated on the other side of the room.

This room appeared to be a dining room, but the dining table had been pushed to one side and people standing around talking had filled the space. It was a nice apartment, it looked almost like an expensive mansion stuck in the middle (or the top) of an apartment block. But it was still beautiful; I guess I should get used to this kind of thing.

Emmett stretched out his hand with a giant grin on his face. He had short brown curly hair and he was quite possibly one of the most muscular men I had ever laid eyes on. He had his arm around a girl with bright blue eyes, and long gorgeous blonde hair.

I shook Emmett's hand and Rose's.

"Rose is Jasper's sister, and Emmett is his best friend. That's how they met" Chirped Alice from my side.

"It's great to finally meet you, Alice has told us all about you" Emmett said still beaming, he somehow resembled a great big huggable teddy bear.

"I'm just going to get something to drink, do you want to come?" Rose said, clearly talking to Emmett.

"Year sure babe" He replied. At that moment Alice mentioned something about going to look for Jasper and just like that I was completely alone.

"Hey" A voice said coming up next to me, it was a blonde guy. Not much taller than me. He had sandy blonde hair and a cheesy smile that grew by the second.

"I'm Mike" he said, thrusting his hand out to me.

"Uh, Bella" I said, taking it hesitantly.

"So you're knew around these parts, huh?" He said taking a step closer to me.

"Yeah, I just moved here from forks actually" I said, trying to seem as amicable as possible to this encroaching young man.

"Oh, I think I've heard of that place! Is right next to spoons?" And just like that he broke into a fit of laughter, clearly thinking that his joke was a lot funnier than it had actually been.

"So Bella are you free tomorrow night?" He said with a wink moving another step closer.

"Um actually, I think my friend's calling me. I have to go" I said and made a desperate dash to the nearest door. This time I found myself In a hallway, and yet again it was filled with people from all sides.

I searched over the heads of the crowds searching for some sign of someone I knew, when I caught sight of Rose's blonde hair moving up the staircase.

Well at least it's somebody I said to myself and quickly ran up the staircase.

At the top of the staircase was another hall, with a series of doorways on each side. I went into the nearest one and hoped there'd be somebody I knew. And it must've been my lucky day, because there in front of me were Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose. All sitting around a tv cheering on Rose or Emmett.

The room seemed to be some sort of game's room, with a dart board on one side along with a foosball and air hockey table.

"Bella!" Alice screamed when she saw me.

"I am SO sorry, I got completely side tracked, but you've found us now so it's all okay, Rose and Emmett are just in the middle daily play off at Halo" Alice chimed.

"Daily play off?" I asked quizzically

"Yeah, well when they first met, Emmett insisted on playing against her. Well, she bet him and ever since then he's tried to beat her every day. He hasn't had any luck so far, and each day she completely thrashes him"

I looked over at Rose who was holding the controller completely calmly and sitting quite civilized on the couch, looking as if she'd done this a dozen times before in her high heels and tight cocktail dress.

Emmett on the other hand, was shouting of the longest list of expletives I'd ever heard while thrashing his controller about madly in the hopes it would change his luck.

I'd never seen a more mismatched couple before, but it seemed to suit him.

I took a seat on the couch next to Jasper and joined them in watching Rose crush Emmett.

"So how's New York treating you Bella?" Jasper asked.

"It's great so far, thanks for asking. But I'm curious, do you have any idea what people have against walking. Everywhere I've gone I've caught a taxi only to find out that it was just down the street."

"Well" Jasper started,

"Most of those people were Alice, right? Well she won't go anywhere without high heels and there is no way she could risk breaking one on the way" He chuckled while Alice looked adoringly at him.

"He knows me so well" She smiled.

Suddenly I heard something from the hallway.

"Bella?" Mike's voice rang out.

"Belllaaaaa" He crooned again.

Why him, I thought desperately to myself. As his voice grew quieter again I made a dash for the door. But just as I ran out the door I collided straight on into someone.

"You really are trying to make a habit out of this" James said chuckling.

I took a step back from him, rolling my eyes. Still in shock that he was even here.

"I can't help it if I'm clumsy. Besides, why are you here?"

"Well, I was just looking for my good friends. I have those you see. Friends, who I do things with." He said not quite sarcastically, but not quite seriously.

"Belllaaaa" Mike called once more, this time his voice growing louder. And coming from the staircase.

I looked around desperately, and dove for the nearest closed door and slammed it behind me. I was all of a sudden engulfed in darkness. Why did it have to be a closet? It could have been a bathroom, or a bedroom, or a toilet, or a shop where they sell lights. Anything but the dark.

"Bella" James said calmly while knocking on the door. When I didn't respond he slowly opened the door.

"Just shut the door" I whispered.

"Bella. Why are you hiding in a closet?" He said. The darkness hiding everything from me.

"Uh, it's this guy; he keeps trying to talk to me. He even asked me out and I don't know what to say to him. Can you see a light switch anywhere?" I said, trying to keep my cool and not let my voice show how scared I actually was.

"Bella, are you okay, you sound really out of breath" He said actually showing honest concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Or I will be, once I've found the light switch" I fumbled around uselessly before giving up.

"You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?" I could actually hear the smirk in his words. As I felt him take a step towards me.

How did he know? It wasn't that obvious was it?

"No, not at... All" I said, barely concealing the fact that I was really beginning to panic.

I heard him take another step towards me.

"What are you doing?" I said into the darkness.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Bella" He replied, taking another step closer.

"There's absolutely nothing in the dark there isn't in the light" He said, this time coming so close it forced me to take a step back. But I found myself up against the wall; there was nowhere I could step backwards.

I felt him bring his arms up and rest them on the wall behind me. I felt myself audibly gasp as he brought his mouth up to my ear.

"It's just, a closet, Bella" He whispered into my ear. By now my entire body was aware of how close he was, I could feel myself breathing so fast, anyone would have thought I'd been underwater for an hour. And my heart was moving so fast I could hear it in my ears.

"BELLA? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Alice swung the door open, suddenly flooding the small compartment with light. I turned to James and quickly pushed him away.

"Uh nothing, I was just looking for..." My eyes darted to the shelf next to me in the hopes of an excuse.

"... A bucket?" I said meekly. But I knew she wouldn't buy it.

"Come on Bella" She replied, smiling to herself as if she knew something I did.

As I left the closet I still heard James behind me still chuckling to himself.

* * *

The rest of the night, was (Thankfully) very uneventful. I stuck to Alice like a fly to spilt orange juice. And made sure I didn't go anywhere near Mike or James.

However, the latter proved to be quite difficult. Seeing as those friends James had mentioned, turned out to be Emmett and Jasper.

But it wasn't quite as bad as I'd expected, apart from the odd glance in my direction. That was about as far as our interaction for the night went.

Or so I thought.

When the six of us were leaving, James insisted on driving me home. There was no way I could really deny though, considering we both lived in the same apartment.

I reluctantly accepted knowing that the car ride would be short and sweet.

This is how the entire car trip went:

James: How can you be scared of the dark? *laugh*

Bella: Cause it's scary.

And then James laughed the entire way home.

* * *

As soon as we got back to the apartment, I realized I still hadn't written back to Edward. I rushed up stairs, changed into my pyjamas, and sat down at my desk.

_Dear Edward._

_Things are so different in New York. Remember my friend Alice?  
Well you see she's one of those high class fashion designers, and she insisted on me trying on every one of her newest designs.  
__I suppose it wasn't all bad though, it was a good chance for us to really catch up since I got here.  
__She also took me to a party at one of her friend's houses.  
Where I met the most vile man possible, his name was Mike and without even knowing anything more than my name he asked me out.  
He then proceeded to hunt me down for the rest of the night. Of course I thought of Edward,  
and I never would have said yes. Not in a million years.  
__I've always said I wanted for us to meet. But i'm in New York and you're in London,  
and we're both completely swamped with our work at the moment.  
But still, I can't wait for the moment I see you.  
Write back to me soon._

_I love you always – Bella._

I sealed the letter up in an envelope and ran down stairs, I'd started to get the hang of not tripping on the last stair. As I ran out the door and into the hallway, I briefly heard James call something about what I was wearing, but I didn't pay attention.

I made my way to the lobby and gave my letter to the receptionist for her to post, and noticed her looking at me rather strangely. As I walked back to the escalator I noticed a couple of other people do the same.

That's when I realized it, I was in my pajamas. In the lobby. My face went bright red and I sprinted for the escalator, and ran back to our apartment as fast as I could.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME I WAS STILL IN MY PYJAMAS?" I yelled at James.

"Well I DID. Nice pyjamas by the way" He said, not even looking up from the book he was reading.

He did have a point.

"Hmph" Seemed to be the most intellectual response I could come up with, as stormed up the stairs and made my way to bed.

* * *

**Well there you have it :D I hope you liked it. Thank you for reading! And remember to review!**

**See you next time (: **


	5. Twelve bouquets

**Hello again (: , remember I own none of this. I only like to make these characters do fun things :D**

* * *

"_Bella..."_

I awoke with a start from that same frustrating dream I'd been having for weeks. I looked around my room, still breathing heavily. Everything was still dark.

I checked my digital clock next to me, on my bedside table.

5:00am. Shit. I was never going to get back to sleep now.

I threw on the same thing I'd been wearing the day before and scavenged around in my drawers for a book I still hadn't read.

I came across my old, dearly loved, battered and bruised copy of Pride & Prejudice. Sure I'd read it at least twelve times, but that didn't make me love it any less.

I went downstairs to find everything still dark. I guess he didn't always get up at the crack of dawn.

It had been almost a week since the party Alice took me too, and since then I had made sure not to go to anymore of them. Although I had become quite good friends with Jasper, Emmett and Rose by now.

Alice took the liberty to invite me to dinner with them every night; apparently people in New York were also opposed to cooking their own dinners, as well as walking places. Seeing as we dined out every time.

However it was always nice, I'd never had really good friends back in Forks, so it was nice to have company for a change.

James was, however the one thing that hadn't changed since the party. I'd gone out of my way to avoid him, but I could only avoid him so much seeing as we lived in the same house. Every time he saw me, he gave me that same smirk and chuckled at me.

I made my way down to the beautiful couch, which since moving in had become my new best friend. Every day I sat here, either with one of my many books or my laptop. Trying to come up with ideas for my New Years article.

And so far that had gone swimmingly; I had a grand total of 0 ideas. Alice had still promised to take me to visit this elderly couple, but Alice had a tendency to exaggerate, so I wasn't quite sure how reliable it would be.

It's too early to be thinking about this, I thought to myself as I opened my book and curled up.

And I was actually quite content like this for a couple of hours, but of course it couldn't stay that way forever.

"Good morning sunshine!" James chirped, all too cheerfully for my liking from behind me.

I turned around to see him beaming gleefully back at me.

"Pride& Prejudice" he said, noting the book in my hand.

"Yes, literature that is probably far beyond your reading capability" I said stubbornly.

"Far beyond my reading capability? Whatever you say Bella" He said, laughing. As he turned to the kitchen.

As much as I hated to admit it, James was actually an extremely good cook. And had managed to come up with some sort of amazing meal for breakfast every morning.

"What'll it be today ma'am?" He called jokingly from the kitchen.

"Would you care for scrambled eggs good sir?" I replied, feigning a British accent.

"As you wish m' lady" He said, mimicking the same voice I'd used.

* * *

He did as I requested, and within mere minutes I could already smell the scent of it wafting from the kitchen.

He wasn't as bad as he was when I first met him now, I'd slowly gotten used to his taunting sense of humour.

"So Bella, have you heard from that Mike fellow since the party?" He said from across the table, winking at me before taking a bit from the piece of egg on his fork.

"No. And i don't plan on every coming into contact from him again" The experience alone that night was traumatic enough, why would I willingly put myself into that situation again?

And besides, I loved Edward too much to ever consider dating somebody else. And I knew he would do the same.

My heart still skipped a beat at the prospect of meeting him face to face, but sadly everyday when I ran down to reception the lady sitting there told me the same thing. Nothing, no mail what so ever. But I trusted Edward; I knew something must've come up, stopping him from replying to my letter.

James and I finished our breakfast and I took the plates to the sink to wash them, it was the least I could do every morning after he made it all.

"Bella, I think you've got a secret admirer..." James called to me.

I was wondering what on earth he was talking about, when I walked out to the front door where James was standing. And there in front of me, were at least a dozen of the most beautiful bouquets of flowers, all lined up outside our door.

And there, in the centre of the row, in the largest bunch of flowers was a small envelope with my name on it.

I'd recognize that writing anywhere.

_Bella_

It was Edward, I knew it was. My heart skipped a beat as I read my name.

With the help of James, I lugged all of the flowers in and somehow found vases and places for each one, saving the biggest one to go on my desk in my bedroom.

The entire time we were bringing them in, all James could do was laugh.

"So who is this Edward anyway?" He asked after I brought the last one in.

"The love of my life" I sighed, while smiling at the last bunch of flowers.

"The love of your life? How long have you two been going out for?" He asked incredulously.

"Well of course I wouldn't expect you to understand anything about love. But if you must know, we've never actually met, but we've been writing to each other for years" I was just waiting for it, the 'How can you love someone you've never met?' that I got from everyone I told about Edward and I.

But it never came; he just nodded thoughtfully and simply said,

"Fair enough" then left my room.

I stood there, still a little shocked that that was his only response. I turned back to my large bouquet of flowers, and realized I still hadn't opened my letter.

I ripped open the envelope and to my surprise two letters fell out, I sat down on my bed to read the first one.

_Bella_

_I, Edward, cordially invite you to attend with me  
the annual New Year, New York ball. On The evening of December 31__st__.  
It would mean the world if you would join me there._

_-Edward_

My heart was beating so fast, I would actually see him, in less than two months I would finally meet my prince charming. Suddenly my head came up with every possible thing that could go wrong,

What if he doesn't show up? What if he's a forty year old sleaze bag, calm down Bella, he told you himself he was your age. He won't lie to you, calm down. I took several deep breaths and finally picked up the second letter.

_Dear Bella_

_I hope you appreciate the flowers. I'm so sorry for not writing to  
you sooner, I've just so busy with one thing and another.  
My book is coming along well; I've nearly finished it now.  
I'm so sorry to hear about that Mike guy;  
you have no idea how relieved I was when you  
said you turned him down. I'll always be faithful to you Bella,  
and I cannot describe how much  
I hope you can make for the New Year's ball._

_I love you always – Edward_

My heart fluttered, the way it always did when I read his letters. I would see him; I was actually going to see him. I was so excited I was still struggling to process it all.

I instinctively brought my hand up and clutched my half of the Gemini necklace; I was finally going to find my other half.

* * *

Shortly after that, I received my daily phone call from Alice, informing her to come straight to her apartment.

This time, knowing where it was I walked there instead of wasting the money on a taxi, and I'm pretty sure it was actually faster than the taxi.

I made it to Alice's apartment, and knocked on the door.

"BELLA!" Alice screamed as she always did when she saw me. I'd been to visit Alice every day since I'd been in New York. And every one of those days she'd insisted on trying on all of her latest clothes.

I would have thought she'd been finished with that on the first day, but somehow she just kept popping up with more clothes.

"So Edward finally wrote back..." I started as she measured my waist for what was probably the 24th time this week.

"And?" She said, looking up at me with huge eyes.

"Well, he sent me a gift, several of them actually" I watched as Alice's eyes lit up and she screamed,

"How romantic! What were they? Tell me everything!"

So I did, I told her about the twelve bouquets of flowers, and the letter inviting me to the ball. Slowly her eyes grew wider and wider, till I almost thought she'd loose it altogether.

"OH BELLA! WE NEED TO FIND YOU THE PERFECT DRESS! I HAVE JUST THE THING, OH AND WE'LL NEED TO GET YOUR HAIR AND MAKE UP PROFESSIONALLY DONE, YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL, AND EDWARD WON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY" She screamed so fast it came out as one very very long word.

"Uh, sure Alice, whatever you say"

* * *

**I hope you liked it :D Remember to review!**


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